While I was in my semester abroad in Germany, I of course talked to Germans while I was there. We would invariably end up discussing the places we had been to in each other’s countries. I had traveled quite a bit in Germany, and I had been to many German cities that quite a few other Germans had not been to. On the other hand, a lot of Germans had been to a lot of cities from the United stated that I had yet to go to. That was largely due to the fact that I had never been to the East Coast.

After I finished University, without any other plans, I had decided to move to Germany. But first, I wanted to travel within the United States a bit more. As such, I decided to spend a few months on the East Coast.

I was living in Wyoming, and I first drove to Chicago to see some friends there. One thing we did was set up a free hugs stand downtown, which was a lot of fun.

I didn’t feel like driving any further because I was afraid of my car breaking down. Additionally, I was looking to save some money, so I started hitchhiking. I went to the south side of Chicago, went to an onramp for the interstate and stuck out my thumb. Continue reading →